Child Pornography

Holding that "the law is designed to protect children until they are adults," a federal judge Thursday convicted Van Nuys video distributor Rubin Gottesman of three child pornography charges stemming from the distribution of a trio of films in which teen-age porn queen Traci Lords appeared. U.S. District Judge David Kenyon rejected arguments that the federal child pornography statute is unconstitutional because it permits criminal convictions even in cases involving actresses, like Lords, who have acted in dozens of X-rated films and who persuade producers and distributors throughout the industry that they are older than their years.

When she was 8 years old, a Pennsylvania girl identified only as Amy was raped repeatedly by an uncle, who compounded the crime by photographing the encounters - some of which involved acts ordered up by consumers of child pornography - and sending the images out over the Internet. More than 70,000 copies have been found on various confiscated computers. The uncle went to prison in 1998 and was ordered to pay $6,325 in restitution to cover Amy's psychological treatment at the time, which helped her heal from the trauma.

Calling the case a "classic glimpse into the shadowy world of pedophilia," Los Angeles City Atty. James K. Hahn filed charges Thursday against a man who allegedly mailed child pornography to an undercover police officer posing as a child molester. Dennis M. Trembly, 41, a professional musician who lives downtown, was charged with a single misdemeanor count of exhibiting to an adult matter depicting a person under age 17 engaging in sexual conduct. Trembly is scheduled to be arraigned July 13. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to a year in County Jail and fined $2,000.

WASHINGTON - A Pennsylvania girl known in court papers only as Amy was sexually abused by an uncle when she was 8. He went to prison, but not before circulating pictures of the rape on the Internet. Fifteen years after the abuse, law enforcement investigators have found more than 70,000 images of Amy's assault on computers seized around the world. One was a laptop owned by Doyle Paroline, a Texas man who pleaded guilty to downloading child pornography and was sentenced to two years in prison.

A former Roman Catholic priest described by neighbors as a "perfect gentleman" is one of two men being sought in connection with a ring that allegedly made pornographic videotapes of young boys in Mexico and Southern California and distributed them worldwide, Los Angeles police said Tuesday. John Bauer, 52, was said by officers to have preyed on juveniles in Hollywood in recent years and to have owned porn shops in the Pacific Northwest. Bauer, the alleged ringleader, is believed to have fled the country after slipping through police hands several months ago. Also being sought--and also thought to have fled the country--is Victor Feliciano, 29, a Rosemead handyman.

Mark Fritz and Solomon Moore write in the article "Child Porn Raids Lead to Suicide" (Oct. 23) that suicide victim [Kenneth] Nighbert's attorney, Rick Berne, believes his client is "facing too harsh a penalty." The article feels slanted. Somehow The Times authors would like us to feel sorry for these poor, pitiful cyber users that commit suicide for being caught with kiddy porn. Somehow this article leads us to think it might be really unfair that their homes can be taken from them as part of the punishment.

A 44-year-old Sun Valley man was arrested Friday for allegedly downloading child pornography via the Internet. David Luera, who is currently in custody in lieu of $30,000 bail at the LAPD's Sexually Exploited Child Unit, could face up to six years in prison if convicted. It is the second time Luera has been arrested for allegedly possessing child pornography videos and still photographs.

A 20-year-old Encino woman was sentenced Tuesday to 15 days in county jail and 45 days on a Caltrans work crew after pleading no contest to possessing pornographic photographs she took of a 6-year-old girl, according to the Los Angeles city attorney's office. The pictures were taken while the woman, Fabiola Navarro Gonzales, worked for the child's parents as a baby-sitter and housekeeper, the attorney's office said.

Riverside County prosecutors have charged a Calimesa city councilman with 10 felony counts of intent to distribute child pornography. Jonathan L. Winningham, 50, was released from custody Friday after posting $5,000 bail. He also is charged with three misdemeanor counts of possessing child pornography. Winningham was arrested in October after the Sheriff's Department was tipped that he allegedly had child pornography on his home computer.

A former Catholic priest and pornography shop owner sought by Los Angeles police Wednesday formally waived extradition from Washington state to face charges of operating a homosexual child pornography network. John Bauer, 53, was arrested just west of Spokane County on Interstate 90 last month. The Los Angeles Police Department had been looking for him for about 15 months. Bauer appeared in Spokane County Superior Court on Wednesday and agreed not to fight extradition.

WASHINGTON - A senior aide to Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of possessing and distributing child pornography. Law enforcement officials took Ryan Loskarn, chief of staff in Alexander's Washington office, into custody after seizing evidence in his home. Loskarn was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday. Alexander said he was "stunned, surprised and disappointed. " "I was just informed by United States Senate legal counsel's office that law enforcement agents are conducting a search of the personal residence of Ryan Loskarn, the chief of staff of my Washington, D.C., office regarding allegations involving child pornography," Alexander said in a statement.

SAN DIEGO -- A San Diego teacher pleaded guilty Thursday to five counts of possessing child pornography, which could bring a prison sentence between 35 years and life. Timothy James Hensley, 39, a science teacher at Bell Middle School, pleaded guilty to receiving images of a 10-year-old girl and other minors "in sexually explicit conduct. " No evidence suggests the images were those of his students, according to court documents. Hensley is set to be sentenced Aug. 12 in San Diego federal court.

A former Eagle Scout who became a Boy Scout leader faces child pornography charges on Long Island, N.Y., officials said. Edward Orenchuk III of Garden City, has been arrested and charged with multiple felonies for possessing images of child pornography and making those images available to others via the Internet, Nassau County Dist. Atty. Kathleen Rice announced . Orenchuk was arrested and arraigned Wednesday, officials said. He is being held on $400,000 bond or $100,000 cash.

A nine-year veteran of the Long Beach Police Department has been arrested on suspicion of felony possession of child pornography after reportedly meeting a teenager while on patrol and soliciting explicit photographs of the youth through electronic messages, police said. Noe Yanez, 40, was taken into custody Thursday evening by Long Beach police after an investigation that began earlier this month. The alleged victim had told a school resources officer about the messages and authorities were alerted.

The FBI arrested a San Bernardino middle school teacher Tuesday on suspicion of child pornography for allegedly exchanging sexually explicit photographs with a 13-year-old girl in New Jersey. Eugene Ballantyne, 29, was taken into custody at his Running Springs home early Tuesday morning. Ballantyne told investigators that he also received sexually explicit pictures from a 15-year-old girl two years earlier and traveled 180 miles to have sex with a 17-year-old girl in July, according to a FBI affidavit filed in federal court.

In his private journal, Jason Michael Handy once described himself as a "pedophile, full blown. " Handy snapped more than 1,000 photos of girls at the elementary school across the street from his house, using a camera with a telephoto lens, according to court documents. He volunteered at a Malibu church, where he worked with 6-year-olds. And his job as a production assistant at one of the nation's most prominent producers of children's television programs, Nickelodeon, gave him access to child actors on and off the set, and allowed him to exchange email addresses and phone numbers with them.

A Redlands elementary school teacher who is a regional vice president of the California Teachers Assn., pleaded innocent Monday to federal charges of possessing child pornography. Philip George Dupuis allegedly had more than 700 photographs of young boys engaging in sexual acts with adult men, some of them sadistic, according to court records. Dupuis was arrested Dec. 23 and is being held without bail.

A pastor and youth soccer coach has pleaded not guilty to charges that he molested an 8-year-old Huntington Beach girl and possessed child pornography. Christopher Raymond Olague, 39, of Westminster was arrested by Huntington Beach police in October after the mother of the girl reported the alleged molestation. Olague allegedly picked up the girl Oct. 5 for a play date at a park with one of his daughters. Instead, he took her to the parking lot of a grocery store and molested her, Huntington Beach Police Lt. Russell Reinhart said.

The Justice Department has charged 72 suspected members of an online child pornography ring that encouraged its members to engage in sexual acts with children 12 and under and submit gruesome, violent material to build a massive private database of images and videos on the Internet. The crackdown is the result of a joint effort by the departments of Justice and Homeland Security launched in December 2009 to target about 500 people in 13 countries on five continents for their suspected participation in "Dreamboard," a members-only online bulletin board that was created to encourage the sharing of graphic images and videos.